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Bit Parts

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
October 30, 2006

Accounting-Malpractice Claim/Arbitration

The Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division 5, decided that an arbitration provision in a retainer agreement for an accounting firm to represent Kathlynn Federici in a divorce from her husband Danny Federici, keyboardist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, barred her malpractice suit against the firm. Federici v. Gursey Schneider & Co. LLP, B183945. The plaintiff had hired Gursey Schneider to determine the value of the couple's separate and community property. Kathlynn later concluded that the marital settlement was unfair to her and sued the accountants for professional negligence. But the court of appeal explained that 'an unambiguous provision in Gursey's retainer agreement required, as a prerequisite to any future malpractice action, that plaintiff raise existing professional negligence claims as an affirmative defense in any fee-related arbitration with Gursey ' so that any such damages would be offset against Gursey's fees ' and only if that remedy failed to compensate plaintiff for all of her negligence damages could she pursue further relief through a separate litigation.'

Contributory and Vicarious Copyright Infringement/Interlocutory Appeal

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied a motion under 28 U.S.C. 1292(b) for an interlocutory (ie, expedited) appeal by the operators of a flea market found on summary-judgment to be contributorily and vicariously liable for copyright infringement for running a 'pirate bazaar.' Arista Records Inc. v. Flea World Inc., 03-2670 (JBS). An interlocutory ap-peal may be granted where there is a controlling question of law. But the district court noted in part: 'Defendants take issue with Court's application of the legal standard to the facts of this case (ie, applying the requirements for secondary liability to the owners and operators of a flea market where vendors sell counterfeit CDs and cassettes). Section 1292(b), however, may not be invoked to obtain review of whether a trial court properly applied the law to the facts.

Copyright Infringement/Substantial Similarity

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